Fluorescence of tryptophan in the denaturation of human serum albumin under the action of sodium dodecyl sulfate

Tryptophan fluorescence of human serum albumin (HSA) when sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was added to a solution of the protein was studied at various pH values, which allowed us to get an idea about the mechanism of the denaturation of HSA under the action of SDS. The two-stage quenching of tryptophan fluorescence of HSA as the concentration of SDS increased was evidence of the two-stage character of denaturation. The first stage involved loosening of protein globules, and the second one was the complete uncoiling of the amino acid protein chain. At solution pH higher than the isoelectric point of the protein (pI 4.7), denaturation stopped at the first stage. At pH values below pI of the protein, the denaturation of the protein under the action of SDS was more effective and deep (involved both stages).     

Study of the denaturation of human serum albumin by sodium dodecyl sulfate using the intrinsic fluorescence of albumin

An analysis of the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence of human serum albumin (HSA) confirms that the denaturation of HSA by sodium dodecyl sulfate takes place in two stages for different pH levels: the first is the disintegration of globules and the second is the complete unfolding of the amino acid chain of HSA. At pH levels below the isoelectric point (pI 4.7) of HSA, denaturation proceeds through both stages, but when the pH is above pI, denaturation ceases in the first stage.     

Polarized fluorescence in the study of rotational diffusion of human albumin during denaturation under the action of SDS

Polarized tryptophan fluorescence of human serum albumin (HSA) was analyzed to determine the parameters of rotational diffusion (rotational relaxation time, rotational diffusion coefficient, and the effective Einstein radius) of HSA molecules during denaturation under the action of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Two stages of HSA denaturation under the action of SDS were shown: (1) loosening of protein globules and (2) unfolding of the amino-acid chain of the protein. HSA denaturation under the action of SDS is a two-stage process at pH values lower than the pI of HAS but passes through stage 1 only at pH values higher than the pI.     

Structural Changes in Human Serum Albumin According to the Data on the Phosphorescence Kinetics of a Luminescent Probe — Eosin

The influence of the human serum albumin (HSA) denaturation by a surface-active substance (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)) on the phosphorescence of a luminescent probe (eosin) has been investigated. The dependences of the eosin-phosphorescence intensity on the SDS concentration were determined at different pH levels of an HSA solution. It has been shown that at SDS concentrations lower than the critical concentration necessary for micelle formation, the hydrophobic interactions of eosin with the protein influence the deactivation of the eosin triplet states. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 72, No. 5, pp. 660–663, September–October, 2005.     

Complexation of pyrene and anthracene with human blood plasma

We have studied the interaction between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pyrene and anthracene) with human serum albumin (HSA) and human blood plasma. We have shown that the increase in the fluorescence intensity and the decrease in the polarity index of pyrene on going from an aqueous solution to a pH 7.4 buffer solution of HSA suggests that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are localized in the hydrophobic microphase of the proteins. The increase in the fluorescence intensity for anthracene and pyrene, and also the decrease in the polarity index of pyrene on going from HSA to blood plasma is connected with the fact that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can bind both to plasma proteins and to plasma lipids. When sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is added to the blood plasma in a concentration greater than the critical micelle concentration, we observe an increase in the fluorescence intensity and the polarity index of pyrene. We hypothesize that this is connected with localization of pyrene near the interface between the hydrophobic and hydrophilic phases of the protein-SDS system. We have established that SDS leads to a change in the structure of blood plasma proteins and promotes escape of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the protein globules. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 3, pp. 379–382, May–June, 2008.     

Investigation of Serum-Albumin Aggregation

It has been revealed by dynamic light scattering that human blood-plasma serum albumin (HAS) aggregates in the presence of heavy-metal salts (CsCl) and the size of the HSA aggregates depends linearly on the salt concentration. A parabolic dependence of the hydrodynamic radius of the HSA particles on the pH level of an HSA buffer solution with a maximum at the isoelectric point of HSA (pI 5.0) has been obtained. It has been established that aggregates of HSA molecules represent ellipsoids of revolution which are transformed into practically spherical complexes on addition of CsCl to a solution.     

Investigation of denaturation of human serum albumin under action of cethyltrimethylammonium bromide by raman spectroscopy

The mechanism of denaturation of human serum albumin (HSA) under action of a cationic detergent—cethyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) is investigated by Raman spectroscopy method. The percentage contents of α-helical segments in polypeptide chain of HSA at denaturation under action of different concentrations of CTAB at different values of pH is determined. It is shown, that more intensive denaturation of HSA under action of CTAB takes place at pH values, larger the isoelectric point of protein (pI 4.7).     

Denaturation of human serum albumin initiated by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as monitored via the intrinsic fluorescence of the protein and fluorescence of an eosin probe

An analysis of the intrinsic fluorescence of the protein and the fluorescence of the eosin molecular probe in solutions of the protein was used to study the denaturation of human serum albumin (HSA) under the action of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a cationic detergent, at various pH values. The denaturation of HSA under the influence of CTAB is a single-stage process over the entire pH range covered, pH (3.5–8.0). The maximum possible loosening of HSA globules in the presence of CTAB is reached at [CTAB] = 4 mmol/l. This detergent effectively denatures HSA at pH values higher than the pI of the protein (4.7).     

Sensitizing effect of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z,Z</Emphasis>-bilirubin IXα and its photoproducts on enzymes in model solutions

In model systems, we have studied side effects which may be induced by light during phototherapy of hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice) in newborn infants, with the aim of reducing the Z,Z-bilirubin IXα (Z,Z-BR IXα) level. We have shown that the sensitizing effect of Z,Z-BR IXα, localized at strong binding sites of the human serum albumin (HSA) macromolecule, is primarily directed at the amino acid residues of the carrier protein and does not involve the molecules of the enzyme (lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)) present in the buffer solution. The detected photodynamic damage to LDH is due to sensitization by bilirubin photoisomers, characterized by lower HSA association constants and located (in contrast to native Z,Z-BR IXα) on the surface of the HSA protein globule. Based on study of the spectral characteristics of the photoproducts of Z,Z-BR IXα and comparison of their accumulation kinetics in solution and the enzyme photo-inactivation kinetics, we concluded that the determining role in sensitized damage to LDH is played by lumirubin. The photosensitization effect depends on the wavelength of the radiation used for photoconversion of bilirubin. When (at the beginning of exposure) we make sure that identical numbers of photons are absorbed by the pigment in the different spectral ranges, the side effect is minimal for radiation corresponding to the long-wavelength edge of the bilirubin absorption band. We have shown that for a bilirubin/HSA concentration ratio >2 (when some of the pigment molecules are sorbed on the surface of the protein globule), the bilirubin can act as a photosensitizing agent for the enzyme present in solution. We discuss methods for reducing unfavorable side effects of light on the body of newborn infants during phototherapy of hyperbilirubinemia. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 3, pp. 383–394, May–June, 2008.     

Laser correlation spectroscopy of the processes of serum albumin denaturation

Denaturation of serum albumin under the influence of temperature and ionic detergent sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) is investigated by laser correlation spectroscopy of scattered light. It is shown that thermal denaturation is stronger at pH values of the buffer solution of protein that are close to the isoelectric point of the given protein. Coupling of the micelles of SDS with albumin follows the principle of positive cooperativity. The concentration of protein saturation with the surfactant is determined, upon the attainment of which further protein denaturation was not observed. It is shown that the interaction of SDS with albumin is of an electrostatic nature.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 71, No. 6, pp. 831–835, November–December, 2004.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Denaturation of bovine serum albumin initiated by sodium dodecyl sulfate as monitored via the intrinsic fluorescence of the protein

The tryptophan fluorescence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) is used to study the denaturation transitions in BSA under the influence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at various pH values. The stepwise quenching of BSA tryptophan fluorescence and the gradual increase in the degree of anisotropy of BSA tryptophan fluorescence with increasing SDS concentration in solutions indicate the stepwise nature of denaturation: the first stage is a loosening of protein globules, whereas the second is a complete unfolding of the protein amino acid chain. At pH > pI of BSA, the denaturation BSA proceeds through both stages. At pH > pI of BSA, the denaturation BSA runs poorly and stops after the first stage. A more efficient BSA denaturation under the action of SDS occurs at pH < pI of BSA, with the efficiency of BSA denaturation under the influence of SDS decreasing with increasing pH.     

Fluorescence of an eosine probe in solutions of human serum albumin with organic and inorganic ligands

The fluorescence of an eosine molecular probe in solutions of human serum albumin (HSA) in the presence of an inorganic (CsCl) and organic (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) ligand was studied. The interaction of HSA molecules with these ligands was analyzed. It was demonstrated that the presence of CsCl, a low-molecular-weight salt, in the solutions influences the efficiency of the complexation of eosine with HSA. Data on the dynamics of the conformation rearrangement of HSA during denaturation under the action of SDS were obtained.     

Altering protein surface charge with chemical modification modulates protein–gold nanoparticle aggregation

Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) can interact with a wide range of molecules including proteins. Whereas significant attention has focused on modifying the nanoparticle surface to regulate protein–AuNP assembly or influence the formation of the protein “corona,” modification of the protein surface as a mechanism to modulate protein–AuNP interaction has been less explored. Here, we examine this possibility utilizing three small globular proteins—lysozyme with high isoelectric point (pI) and established interactions with AuNP; α-lactalbumin with similar tertiary fold to lysozyme but low pI; and myoglobin with a different globular fold and an intermediate pI. We first chemically modified these proteins to alter their charged surface functionalities, and thereby shift protein pI, and then applied multiple methods to assess protein–AuNP assembly. At pH values lower than the anticipated pI of the modified protein, AuNP exposure elicits changes in the optical absorbance of the protein–NP solutions and other properties due to aggregate formation. Above the expected pI, however, protein–AuNP interaction is minimal, and both components remain isolated, presumably because both species are negatively charged. These data demonstrate that protein modification provides a powerful tool for modulating whether nanoparticle–protein interactions result in material aggregation. The results also underscore that naturally occurring protein modifications found in vivo may be critical in defining nanoparticle–protein corona compositions.     

XPS study of the surfactant film adsorbed onto growing titania nanoparticles

TiO₂ particles, prepared by following a sol-gel preparative route, were submitted to hydrothermal growing stages in the presence of an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl-sulfate (SDS), at solution pH values corresponding, respectively, to positive surface charges and to the isoelectric point of the oxide. The concentration of the surfactant in the aqueous solution was varied in order to produce different conditions of self-aggregation between the amphiphilic molecules. XPS analyses were performed on the aged and dried precursors to characterize the surfactant films adsorbed onto the oxide. The regions of Ti 2p, O 1s, and C 1s were specifically investigated. The samples, calcined at 600 °C, were characterized for phase composition-crystallinity, by X-ray diffraction, and for surface area. The role played by the oxide-surfactant interactions and by the surfactant self-aggregation phenomena in affecting the physico-chemical properties of the powders is discussed.     

Spectral fluorescence and polarization characteristics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z,Z</Emphasis>-bilirubin IXα

We have studied the spectral fluorescence and polarization characteristics of Z,Z-bilirubin IXα, at room temperature in chloroform and in aqueous buffer medium, within an equilibrium complex with human serum albumin (HSA), and also under low temperature conditions (T = −100°C) in isobutyl alcohol. We have observed a bathochromic shift of the fluorescence spectra, which is most pronounced for the bilirubin-albumin complex. The following are considered as possible reasons for the observed dependence of the position of the fluorescence (fluorescence excitation) spectra on the excitation (detection) wavelength: structural and spectral differences between the chromophores making up the bilirubin molecule; conformational heterogeneity of the pigment in solution; a contribution to the fluorescence from molecules which have not completed the vibrational relaxation process; inhomogeneous orientational broadening of the levels; heterogeneity of the microenvironment of the chromophores in the protein matrix. We show that polarized fluorescence of bilirubin occurs at room temperature, due to the anomalously short fluorescence lifetime τ (picosecond or subpicosecond ranges). Despite such a short τ, the absorption and emission polarization spectra suggest the presence of intramolecular nonradiative singlet-singlet energy transfer when bilirubin is excited to high vibrational sublevels of the S₁ state (degree of polarization p = 0.11–0.12). When fluorescence is excited on the long-wavelength slope of the absorption band, no transfer occurs: the degree of polarization (p = 0.46−0.47) is close to the limiting value (p = 0.50). We discuss the question of the role played by exciton interactions between chromophores in the bilirubin molecule when it is excited. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 74, No. 1, pp. 108–119, January–February, 2007.     

A study of the adsorption of the amphiphilic penicillins cloxacillin and dicloxacillin onto human serum albumin using surface tension isotherms

The interaction of human serum albumin (HSA) with two structurally similar anionic amphiphilic penicillins, cloxacillin and dicloxacillin, at 25 °C has been examined by surface tension measurements under conditions at which the HSA molecule was positively (pH 4.5) or negatively charged (pH 7.4). Measurements were at fixed HSA concentrations (0.0125 and 0.125% w/v) and at drug concentrations over a range including, where possible, the critical micelle concentration (cmc). Interaction between anionic drugs and positively charged HSA at pH 7.4 resulted in an increase of the cmc of each drug as a consequence of its removal from solution by adsorption. Limited data for cloxacillin at pH 4.5 indicated an apparent decrease of the cmc in the presence of HSA suggesting a facilitation of the aggregation by association with the protein. Changes in the surface tension-log (drug concentration) plots in the presence of HSA have been discussed in terms of the adsorption of drug at the air-solution and protein-solution interfaces. Standard free energy changes associated with the micellization of both drugs and their adsorption at the air-solution interface have been calculated and compared.     

Interaction of molecules of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid and its structural analogs with human serum albumin

We have used fluorescence spectroscopy methods to show that imidacloprid and its structural analogs form complexes with human serum albumin (HSA). The nature of the spectral changes in the ligand×protein systems and the calculated complexation parameters suggest that these low molecular weight compounds mainly bind to a specific section of the protein molecule, near the tryptophan residue in the 214 position of the polypeptide chain. We have found that the association constants are on the order of 10⁴ M⁻¹, and the affinity of the ligands for HSA varies in the series 6-chloronicotinic acid > 6-methoxynicotinic acid = imidacloprid > the keto analog of imidacloprid. The major contribution to the complexation energy probably comes from hydrophobic interaction forces with participation of the aromatic pyridine ring of the ligands, while additional enhancement of ligand-protein affinity can be provided by the nitroimine group of imidacloprid. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 6, pp. 859–866, November–December, 2008.     

Association of riboflavin,caffeine, and sodium salicylate in aqueous solution

We have used UV and visible spectrophotometry to study self-association of aromatic riboflavin molecules (RFN, vitamin B₂, 7,8-dimethyl-10-N-(1′-D-ribityl)isoalloxazine) in aqueous solution (pH 6.86) at T = 298 K, using a dimer model. We have determined the equilibrium dimerization constant for riboflavin, K_dB = 125 ± 40 M⁻¹. We have studied heteroassociation in the system of molecules of 7,8-dimethyl-10-ribitylisoalloxazine with 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine (caffeine) and sodium salicylate (NAS) in aqueous solution (pH 6.86; T = 298 K). We have determined the heteroassociation constants for RFN-NAS and RFN-caffeine molecules in the absence and in the presence of urea in solutions using a modified Benesi-Hildebrand equation: 25 ± 4, 17 ± 3, and 74 ± 11, 53 ± 7 M⁻¹ respectively. We have determined the dimerization constants for NAS (2.7 ± 0.5 M⁻¹) and caffeine (17.0 ± 1.5 M⁻¹). We conclude that heteroassociation of the aromatic molecules leads to a lower effective riboflavin concentration in solution, and the presence of urea in mixed solutions leads to an decrease in the complexation constants for the RFN-NAS and RFN-caffeine systems. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 74, No. 2, pp. 188–194, March–April, 2007.     

Size-dependent denaturing kinetics of bovine serum albumin adsorbed onto gold nanospheres

We have used localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) to monitor the kinetics of thermal denaturing of bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorbed onto gold nanospheres of size 5 nm-100 nm. The effect of the protein on the LSPR was monitored by visible extinction spectroscopy. The wavelength of the peak extinction (resonance) is affected by the conformation of the adsorbed protein layer, and as such can be used as a very sensitive probe of thermal denaturing that is specific to the adsorbed (as opposed to free) protein. The time dependence of the denaturing is measured in the temperature range 60 °C–70 °C, and the lifetimes are used to calculate an activation barrier for thermal denaturing. The results show that thermally activated denaturing of proteins adsorbed onto nanoparticles has a nanoparticle-size-dependent activation barrier, and this barrier increases for decreasing particle size. This may have important implications for other protein-nanoparticle interactions.     

Water proton relaxation in solutions of serum albumin from healthy donors and patients with liver and renal failures

These studies demonstrate possible connection between a decreased affinity of human serum albumin (HSA) in patients with liver and renal failures and changes of the HSA hydration state. The relaxation times,T ₁ andT ₂, of water protons in aqueous protein solution depend on the interaction of water molecules with biopolymer macromolecules. We compared these relaxation times for aqueous solutions of HSA from healthy and sick donors. For latter the amount and correlation time of the bound water are higher than those in healthy donors HSA solutions. The influence of long-chain fatty acids on the albumin hydration was found to be small.